CVE-2024-8061: Aimstack Aim DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2024-8061 Overview

CVE-2024-8061 affects version 3.23.0 of aimhubio/aim, an open-source experiment tracking tool for machine learning workflows. The vulnerability stems from missing timeout configurations in methods that request data from external servers. When the aim tracking server communicates with unresponsive external resources, it waits indefinitely for a response. This blocking behavior prevents the tracking server from processing other incoming requests, resulting in a denial of service condition. The issue is rooted in the _run_read_instructions method and other client calls that lack timeout parameters [CWE-1088].

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can trigger a denial of service by causing the aim tracking server to hang on external requests without a configured timeout.

Affected Products

aimstack aim version 3.23.0 (Python package)
Deployments using the aim tracking server for ML experiment tracking
Environments where aim communicates with untrusted or unstable external endpoints

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-20 - CVE-2024-8061 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-8061

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a network-exploitable denial of service condition in the aim tracking server. The server acts as a client when fetching data from external resources but does not enforce timeouts on these outbound HTTP requests. An attacker who controls or influences the external endpoint can hold the connection open indefinitely, causing the tracking server thread to block. Because the server does not respond to other client requests while waiting, availability degrades to a full outage.

Root Cause

The root cause is a categorized as [CWE-1088] Synchronous Access of Remote Resource without Timeout. The _run_read_instructions method and similar functions in the aim client invoke external HTTP calls without providing a timeout argument. Python HTTP libraries default to no timeout when none is specified, meaning the socket read can block indefinitely. This design flaw becomes an availability weakness when external endpoints stop responding or are attacker-controlled.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires no authentication and no user interaction. An attacker either configures a slow or unresponsive external server that the aim tracking server queries, or manipulates network conditions between the server and its upstream resources. Once the tracking server issues a request to the malicious endpoint, its worker remains blocked, and legitimate users cannot reach the tracking service. Repeated triggers across multiple worker threads amplify the impact.

The vulnerability is described in the Huntr Bounty Report. No public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-8061

Indicators of Compromise

Prolonged outbound connections from the aim tracking server to external hosts that remain in an ESTABLISHED state without data transfer.
Sudden unresponsiveness of the aim tracking server API while the process remains alive.
Increased worker thread or process counts stuck in socket read syscalls.

Detection Strategies

Monitor aim tracking server response latency and error rates for sustained degradation without a corresponding CPU or memory spike.
Correlate outbound connection duration from the tracking server against a baseline to flag long-lived requests exceeding expected thresholds.
Inspect running Python processes for threads blocked in recv or read syscalls on external sockets.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable application-level logging that records the start, end, and duration of every outbound HTTP request from the tracking server.
Deploy network monitoring to alert on outbound TCP sessions from ML infrastructure that exceed configurable duration thresholds.
Track process-level availability metrics for the aim service and alert when request queues grow without processing.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-8061

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade aimhubio/aim to a version later than 3.23.0 once a fixed release is available from the maintainers.
Restrict network egress from the aim tracking server to a known allowlist of trusted external endpoints.
Place the tracking server behind a reverse proxy that enforces upstream request timeouts and circuit breaking.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no vendor advisory or patched version is referenced in the NVD entry. Refer to the Huntr Bounty Report and the upstream aimhubio/aim repository for the latest fix status. Apply any subsequent maintainer release that adds explicit timeouts to _run_read_instructions and related client methods.

Workarounds

Run the aim tracking server with a process supervisor that restarts workers after a maximum request duration.
Configure operating-system-level socket timeouts or use a network policy that terminates idle outbound connections after a defined interval.
Isolate the aim tracking server in a network segment that cannot reach untrusted external hosts.

bash

# Example: enforce a hard request duration limit with gunicorn when hosting the aim server
gunicorn aim.web.run:app \
  --workers 4 \
  --timeout 30 \
  --graceful-timeout 10 \
  --bind 0.0.0.0:53800